The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-29
A PIONEER PREACHER.

PIONEER PREACHER.
Hardships OF His Life in tho Mining Campo
of California.
One of the abest and most eloquent pulpit
orators in California to-day is the Rev. DR. j. q.
simmons. pastor of the Methodist Episcopal
Church South at Chico. Last Sunday evening
in. that city. he preached his thirty fifth ami
vhrsary sermon, telling at length the story Of I.
his work in the vineyard of the Pacific coast
DR.. Simmons is man OF much ability who has
produced a number Of able works In relation to
religious subjects. He has clear, ringing voice.
and possesses the power OF holding his audi
ences At times his hearers are highly amused,
and again they are IN tears. AS public speaker
he has out few equals. He Is a man of fine APP
pearance, and his hair and beard ara as white az
snow.
He is the son Of an honored Methodist preach.
er of the Georgia Conference. and was born in
Butts county, Georgia, in 1927 He graduated
from Emery College, at Oxford Ga, in 1648,
and was ordained to preach few days after re-
ceiving his diploma. In 1852 he was sent as q
missionary to California, reaching San Francisco
in February of that year.
The Doctor relates that the first objects that
attracted his attention upon stepping from tho
ship were the immense gambling saloons, brill
iantly lighted and crowded with men. with here
and there woman seated at table superintend-
ing game. treat piles OF gold lay in the ut
most profuson on the tables. Shrewd and we'll
dressed gamesters were hand to fleece the
roughly-dressed miners. large numbers of whom
were stalking and losing their treasures on the
turn of card. He at once concluded that here
was field that needed religious influence, and
he Ion ged to be at work. Y
He was present and assisted in the organza->
ton of the Pacific Annual Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church South, in April
1852, and is the only remaining member of that
first conference in California The Doctor was
sent to perform his first work in the mines His
first sermon in California was preached in Sac
ramento. where he stopped one day while on his
way to Grass Valley.
He had a rough experience from the day he
left Sacramento. but he stood up bravely. Ash
left this city he was homesick, but his thoughts
were soon absorbed, while rolling along 10 the
old stage-coach. in admiring the lovely Sacra
mento valley, which was not gemmed. as now,
with fine farm houses, vineyards, orchards and
gardens. but only one wide, fower-spangled
plain. AS he arrived ir Nevada City, at night
snow was falling rapidly. The crt 0ked streets
we're crowded with miners, and the gambling
halls were wide open. The parsonage" where
he was to stop was rough shed made OF
shakes," built to the end of the church, which
was constructed of the same material 1t
rather hard to turn in to such a building, whera
the rude blasts of the Sierras could sweep
through. But that was the style Of buildings
all over the town.
| Valley on the Sunday following his arrival in
| the mines. The ''church" consisted of nothing(
| but the framework, and DR.. Simmons set to
| work and completed it with his own hands.
His congregation consisted mostly of men, and
| few of them at that If half dozen ladies were
| present it was considered wonderful It was
desperate work trying to convert men who had
| gone into the minee, tasted OF the gold excite
ment cast off all restraint, and plunged recklessly
| into any and every thing that came along And
| yet, some of the widest of the men had them
selves been preachers and professors back in
| the States"
The doctor travelled from mine to mine on foot,
and he was acquainted with every gold hunter
| for miles around. He ate with them, slept with
| them at night, but often alone undera tree. He
preached to them on Sundays. attended to them
| in sickness. and buried their dead. He preached
| under trees. in cabins, in saloons, ten-pin al
| leys and gambling halls. On many occasions
| he would stand in q saloon behind bar which
| ne would use for pulpit, while his congregation
OF miners. all heavily armed with pistols and
| knives. would sit on the whisky barrels while ha
urged them to "buy gold tried in the fire, that
| they might be rich. During these discourses he
| would frequently be interrupted by some drunk
or "holy terror who would swagger up to the
| bar and erowl out: "Say. parson, won't yer give
us drink?" Such intrusions usually ended by
a couple OF miners grabbing up the offender. and
| thro wing him out the door. and giving signif.
cant warning by tapping their pistols that he
| had better not repeat the trick. just as soon as
| the preacher would end his discourse the bar
tender would take his place behind the bar and
| in few minutes could be heard the rattle and
| jingle OF glasses.
/ Dnring mis- visits to French Corral, then one
of the livelisst camps in the mountains. DE-.
| Simmons used to preach his sermons in a great
| mting hall, standing upon one of the gaming
tables. Before the sermon would be ended some
! sport would take his hat and 60 through tho
crowd remarkine Boys. the parson can't
afford to do all this talking for nothing, you'd
better ante piece" The 'ante" was always
1 large.
| After leaving the mines the Doctor was sta
toned at Stockton, San JOSE and Sacramento,
respectively, being in this city in 1862, during
1 the big flood Since then he has been in San
| Francisco and other important places He has
| preached nearly five thousand sermons. besides
/ delivering numberless lectures and speeches,
| without a single years rest
| Although we'll along in years, the pioneer
preacher is in the best of health. and will doubt.
| less be spared for many more years to perform
I his work. He is known from one end of the
| Sfata to the other and is uniyersaliY likad